uneven heat in my split level

6 years ago

last modified: 6 years ago

my house heats unevenly. we have a (brand new, very excellent) heat pump that uses our existing duct system. if I warm the lower rooms, the living room gets too hot.* I'm thinking of closing off vents in the living room, letting the heat from the lower rooms rise up. below is a diagram of my house as viewed from the side so you can see how it's set up.

the trouble is, I read that closing registers can be bad for circulation, wasting heat trapped in the closed off ducts. also that the change in pressure causes the heater to have to work harder. I think that advice might be only for people who are trying to entirely close off unused rooms -- I'm not. all doors are open most of the time. I just want to balance the heat.

one other thought is to schedule running the fan to circulate the heat instead? we're about to install Nest temperature sensors in the lower rooms so maybe I can get the nest to run the fan when it needs it.

thoughts?

*I do realize the lower floors are cooler due to crawl space and the basement only having one vent. we'll eventually get new insulation, but it won't be for a while.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (5)

Michael
6 years ago
For the bedrooms, this is just one option.

Jump Ducts
mike_home
6 years ago
Closing off one or two vents in a house is not going to cause damage to the blower. You can try closing the one of the vents in the living room and see how there is an improvement in balancing the temperature. Then you can try a second and so on.

If you have a 2-stage blower then having the Nest run the blower in low stage continuously may help. Be aware that will cause your electric bill to increase, but it may be worth it if you are more comfortable.
Related Discussions
Central HVAC, two heat zones - uneven temps around the house
Q
Comments (4)
dragon I assume you have two separate HVAC systems without zoning controls. is this correct? the problems you cite are a typical shortcut that leaves the homeowner frustrated with poor comfort. if so, I suggest an evaluation from an HVAC pro. you might get marginal improvement from dampers on the supply lines that could help balance airflow between the basement and main floor and between the second and third floor. adequate return should also be reviewed. beyond that, I would just be speculating. you will not be able to get good floor to floor comfort without more systems or sophisticated zoning controls. IMO
...See More
Young couple with new to them 1970's split level- SA landscaping ideas
Q
Comments (18)
Roselee- they have more energy than experience at DIY especially when it comes to landscaping. I know I did projects 10 or 15 years ago that i wouldn't think twice about hiring done today- mostly because I didn't realize what I was getting myself in to. But they've just finished some other projects that had to be hired out and are trying to do things that they can when it comes to the yard. I just don't want them to put a lot of sweat equity into this, and not have it look like they want at the end. Good point about the sprinklers. I wonder if they could be capped off somehow for now, but when they have a final layout maybe the water access lines could be converted to drip irrigation. Hmmm. Lynn Marie- I'm not sure you can call the mountain laurel healthy. It has a weird shape. I didn't include this picture initially because the lighting is horrible, but it shows a different angle for the mountain laurel. The trunk comes up at about 45 degrees from the ground and then 2 or three much smaller trunks shoot off straight up. It almost looks like someone tried cutting it down years ago, then it came back. Or maybe someone backed into it getting out of the driveway- it's pretty close to it. I guess you could limb it up some, but it would bug me if I was trying to back out. It's weird because the rest of the trees have been pruned and shaped pretty well You guys have made some great suggestions. Appreciate you looking it over and posting your thoughts. Thanks- Lisa
...See More
Heat Quality from Mitsubishi Mini-Splits with Hyper Heat
Q
Comments (12)
I am thinking out loud a bit here but: you might consider a ceiling fan. In heating season, set to draw air up, at low speed (and possibly adjusting where the minisplits direct the warm air). The idea is cool air is drawn up, forcing warmer air down outside walls, and more consistent temperature throughout, including less feeling of radiant cool from cold surfaces. Can't say how much it would help in terms of comfort but I can say this for sure - would be a lot less expensive up-front cost and easily reversible if you don't like or can always just leave it. To me would be worth trying for a hundred or two bucks. A lot less than hydronic baseboard. (It won't directly lower heating costs but if you are uncomfortable at a given temperature, it's likely you're setting temperature point above what would be needed if more even throughout)
...See More
Split Level With Flat Roof Lines, HELP don't know where to start!
Q
Comments (7)
I don't think board and batten is the right style siding for your home. You've got too much going on with all the roof lines and uneven facade. What you've mocked up is appropriate and uniform, making the house look more uniform than it actually is. I love the mock up you did and I think the windows are appropriate for the style home. I wouldn't do a bow window, but a regular one. Bow windows are dated. I like your color scheme, but fear it won't look great with the brown roof. If the roof will need to be replaced anytime soon, then go for it. If not, you may want to look at other color options with a brown roof. A deep blue gray could look nice. This could be helpful in picking a color. https://www.kylieminteriors.ca/how-to-pick-exterior-paint-colours-in-5-easy-steps/
...See More
PRO
Austin Air Companie
6 years ago
Your home design is such that heat makes it's way to the upper level and has no way out. So because heat rises the heat just builds and builds to the point of which you become uncomfortable.

The best way for these kinds of home designs would be a HVAC zoned system so that you can control each level individually.

Ideally each level should have a return air vent. In some situations this may not be feasible.

It's typically never a good idea to close vents at the registers. This varies, but more often that not it does little to any good and could cause more problems than it's worth.
fsq4cw
6 years ago
+1 - Austin Air!

SR
udarrell
6 years ago
Install dampers at main duct take-offs to help balance airflow...

Not only are Return-Air ducts grossly undersized but also
filter rack areas are also grossly undersized…

This is Extremely Important when Sizing filter rack areas…! Time
to start checking filter airflow fpm velocities...!

NCI is the National Comfort Institute, Inc.; they say to
verify the pressure drop for that filter at the design CFM & velocity and
compare it to the available static pressure of the system, the pressure drop
through residential systems should not exceed 20% of the fans rated static pressure.
A .5" Rated system x .20% is .1" of pressure-drop...

However; then they show the various WRONG steps in Sizing
filters for the CFM airflow & fpm velocity required; the problem is that
they use the listed total square footage of the filter and ‘never figure the
actual open area or AK ‘of the filter, which makes a huge difference in
selecting filter sizes for a particular required CFM & fpm velocity.

After much figuring I have found that the ‘open-air or AK’
of the low pressure drop filters is at around 0.645%. .Return-air filters are
not 100% open-air; for example RA grilles at 400-fpm velocity have a usual
pressure-drop of .03” while cheap filters have around a .08 or.1” pressure-drop
at 300-fpm velocity indicating many times more airflow resistance…!

A typical 16x25 or 20x20 is a total 400-sq.ins. x* .645% is
258-sq.ins open-air Ak / 144 is (525-CFM / 1.791666-Ak is 293-fpm velocity);
that’s only 350-CFM per ton on a 1.5-Ton
A/C…!

That’s how we have to size filters to come close to the
manual D requirement of 300-fpm velocity… Some say use 250-fpm, I kind
of like 280-fpm as being okay.

uneven heat in my split level

Comments (5)

Michael

mike_home

Related Discussions

Austin Air Companie

fsq4cw

udarrell

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US